• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Ann Intern Med: Review: Exercise therapy reduces fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome

Messages
13,774
Edit error... there are two M Denman's.

Looks like this is the one who writes for Annals of Internal Medicine:


Michael Denman, MD
Imperial College
London, England, UK


Wonder what new evidence he's been able to dig up.
 
Last edited:
Messages
13,774
What makes you think that's the author? I think it's a different person. There are papers going back to 2009 in the same journal from M. Denman. I don't see how a British med student would get published in that journal.

Other papers by M Denman said that they were at Birmingham. It does seem a bit odd though. Maybe I'm wrong... caution for now! Edit: I was wrong.

I now think this is the M Denman we want!

Michael Denman, MD
Imperial College
London, England, UK
 

halcyon

Senior Member
Messages
2,482
Other papers by M Denman said that they were at Birmingham. It does seem a bit odd though. Maybe I'm wrong... caution for now!
She does appear to be on the psych side of things so I wouldn't put it past her, but I'm guessing it's a different person.
 
Messages
13,774
She does appear to be on the psych side of things so I wouldn't put it past her, but I'm guessing it's a different person.

She did a paper on choosing to specialise in psychiatry... but I was still wrong!

You got in there just before I'd edited.

I think this is the right M Denman.

Michael Denman, MD
Imperial College
London, England, UK
 

Keith Geraghty

Senior Member
Messages
491
I logged into AIM and all I see if part of a paper - I dont see the full review?

It states there is no evidence of adverse outcomes with GET: given psyhotherapy (which is a lot less invasive) brings about a 1/20 long-term adverse outcome rate according to national surveys, we might expect a higher rate with an exercise therapy - however both PACE and this review posit that there are none. This does not tally with a range of patient surveys (including the ME Assocation 2015).

There is a clear need for academic research to follow up a cross-section of patients who have undergone CBT and GET to assess harms or adverse outcomes, aswell as potential benefits.
 

Snow Leopard

Hibernating
Messages
5,902
Location
South Australia
Afraid I don't know anything about it. Given it only refers to exercise therapy and not, say, CBT my guess is that it is discussing the Cochrane review of exercise therapy for CFS.

Most likely... And as we know, the Cochrane review was not quite as positive as they have tried to make out...
 

Cheesus

Senior Member
Messages
1,292
Location
UK
This is odd as the Annals of Internal Medicine published an editorial last year which included the following statement:

The AHRQ-commissioned review of treatment trials, published in this issue (2), finds that counseling therapies and graded exercise therapy might help improve fatigue and function in some, but not all, patients; that not all trials show a benefit for the average patient; and that neither treatment is curative. Authors of the review warn that exercise therapy must be pursued very cautiously because several trials show that exercise leads to more adverse events and withdrawals. This is not surprising, given that postexertional malaise is a cardinal feature of the illness (1, 5, 8).

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2322808

It's more equivocal than the language a member of Phoenix Rising might use, but it's a far cry from supportive.
 

Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
Full citation.

Denman M. Review: Exercise therapy reduces fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome. Ann Intern Med. 2016;164:JC55. doi:10.7326/ACPJC-2016-164-10-055
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
End:

Patients with CFS vary in underlying disease mechanisms and in their response to therapeutic suggestions. Wise counseling from physicians, other health care practitioners, and family fit nicely with encouragement for CFS patients to pursue an exercise program. Patients and their caregivers are best placed to know what “dose” of exercise is suitable day by day. They are also more likely to appreciate practical guidance on a simple, safe management option than abstruse speculation on the cause of their symptoms.

I agree with the point about the dose but this is not the traditional advice in exercise therapy programs for CFS.

The reader is not given any reason why a patient might choose not to do an exercise program.
 
Last edited: